"Suffering from fatigue due to a week of illness" - Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado makes tough decision to skip Dublin World Cup

The next round of UCI World Cup action takes place in Dublin, Ireland this coming weekend. Sadly for the Irish fans of cyclocross though, one of the biggest stars in the women's side of the sport will not be present at the startline.

Fenix-Deceuninck star Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado has been revealed to be skipping the upcoming trip to Ireland in a post on her team's official Instagram account. "Ceylin Alvarado to skip World Cup in Dublin," the announcement begins, before going on to explain the reasons behind her absence. "No Alvarado on Sunday in the Irish round of UCI Cyclocross World Cup. After a great start of the season with six wins, Ceylin is suffering from fatigue due to a week of illness during an intense period of racing."

"The Fenix-Deceuninck medical team has therefore decided to keep Ceylin out of competition this weekend," continues the Instagram post. "The focus will be on recovery and endurance training during the team’s training camp in Spain. Since the third World Cup in Aristano (Sardinia) was not on the schedule anyway, Ceylin will be back in Namur (December 15th)."

Alvarado has been in strong form in the opening of this winter, taking the victory in six of her eleven outings to date. At the first World Cup race last weekend in Antwerp, Alvarado was a someqhat disappointing 5th, given her recent form, although perhaps this illness also goes some way to giving an explanation for this lesser performance.